A private jet that departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport en route to the Bahamas crashed in Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday, killing all nine passengers on board, an airport spokesperson confirmed.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading an investigation into the incident with the Federal Aviation Administration.
Austin aviation attorney Mike Slack said early reports suggest a sudden loss of control that caused the plane to go from controlled flight to a near-vertical nosedive to the ground. Slack said the plane was maneuvering near a very intense thunderstorm before impact.
"The most significant question … at this point is how and why the airplane ended up where it did in dangerous proximity to the weather, and why that airplane wasn't able to avoid the weather, didn't avoid the weather, or chose a way to get around the weather," Slack told KUT.
Slack said the weather conditions in Florida would not have been suitable for any aircraft. The pilot had "little or no time to react" before losing control of the plane and descending over 20,000 feet per minute, he said.
Video footage of the crash and a 2-minute audio clip from the pilot captured immediately before impact reveal how little time the pilot had to regain control of the aircraft.
"When we hear the pilot's voice on the audio clip ... it's already a very, very dire situation," Slack said.
The Learjet 60 crashed in the Cresthaven residential area near Palm Springs around 12:50 p.m. Eastern time, according to the FAA. There were no reports of injuries to people on the ground, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a Sunday news conference.
The NTSB has assembled a team to investigate the crash, the agency said on X. Investigators are arriving to the scene Sunday evening through Monday morning. The agency will hold a media briefing in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday.
Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify the location of the plane crash.
This is a developing story.
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